hcroxim Stills

Here are some stills taken from the video for the track hcroxim. The first is from 0:26:2262. The second is 1:2:4721.

© Salvatore Mercatante 2009

Videos Soon.

AUTOGFTK

Production

If you can produce without knowing your producing, then you are truly producing. If you are able to do this, then what you compose will be a pure as possible, untainted by outside disturbances or influences. 

AUTOGFTK

Idea(s)

Here is something I have been thinking about concerning creativity and idea generation. As well as my creative process from a strictly mental and preliminary stage. I believe it also holds true for any procedural attempt at forming ideas; whether it be in music, science, visual art, mathematics, etc:

I do not come up with these ideas, I receive them. And they come from wherever; from the way someone walks next to me, from how coffee tastes on a given morning, or from how a person gazes at you from across the room. Sometimes it's overwhelming and you don't know what to do because it's all just too much for your mind to grasp. That is when you choose to either block it all out and throw it away, or take it and run. Create what is already trying to be created but through your own eyes. That is where your originality comes through; not in the initial stage of developing ideas and/or idioms. The thing is that everyone has it (this ability), but some just don't know what to do with it or how to channel it. And that is where innovators and artists come from. Nothing truly original can ever be created. One the greats, John Lennon, said something (and for the life of me, I can't find the actual quote) along the lines of 'It's not who you copy, it's how well you copy them.' This is perhaps an extremely blunt version of what I am trying to say. What I am referring to is in no sense "copying," but it is a good point. This concept can be completely subconscious, and you may never notice it but it's there. 

When I am working on a project, sometimes the origin of the idea is conjured from a direct influence; something like a song I just heard, or a movie I just watched (something thats intention is to bring forth some kind of emotional response). That process has a defined source-point or epicenter. But there are other instances where I just sit down in front of my computer, open up Digital Performer or Ableton Live and things just happen. Sometimes it feels like the track is writing itself and music just pours out onto the screen. How does that happen? The inspiration had to of come from some external source, but what that source is is intangible. How can one know what they're doing, but at the same time have no idea what is going on? This borders on Zen philosophies. 

I know everything about what I am doing, and nothing at the same time. 

Listen.

AUTOGFTK

The Past (pt. 1)

Since this blog was created very late in the game, I figure I should give the readers a post about the past. What drove me to do what I am doing, and what I did to put everything together to get to the point I am current at.

The process can be broken down into several sub-processes, which can be further subdivided and so on. We'll start with the musical compositions:

They were created from 2007-2008 for an album I was working on entitled 'conde.' I was interested in the study of beat structure, and the album was basically an product of that study. I attempted to deconstruct beat patterns in a way that would be relatively stimulating to the listener, as well as teach them what I learned. It is difficult to put exactly what I was thinking into words, for the study was not done on paper but internally. Each track embarks on a different journey into beat making, and it is more apparent in some than it is in others. As you pile layers of sound (i.e. percussion, synthesizers, bass, etc.) on top of each other, the track becomes less about the beat and more about the overall arrangement. 

While writing the album, it became apparent to me that sound design was another major player that I had to work with. So when listening to certain tracks, you can hear that sound synthesis became more of a factor. You get to this point where you realize that you can't just use the factory presets and the automated filter sweeps that the soft-synths give you. Sure, they sound great and that's why they're put into the programs sound library, but in order to fully make a track your own you must AT LEAST tinker with settings. This was foreign to me, and that is where Jim McElwaine came into the picture.

In taking multiple independent studies on different types of synthesizing with Jim through the years, I have become more well-versed in speaking my mind through sound. Everything from Frequency Modulation Synthesis (FM - see DX7), to Additive Synthesis, to Granular Synthesis was studied; all tools to help create sounds that have essentially never been heard by the human ear before. It sounds very adventurous and epic, and to be completely honest with you, it is. These sounds and timbres can not be recreated with the usage of conventional acoustic/electric instruments (guitars, orchestral instruments, pianos, brass, etc.). That is the sort of thing that drew me to the field of 'electronic music' (for lack of a better umbrella term) in the first place. 

It is a science and an art in itself. 

Conjure noises that can only be heard in yourself and show them to the world.

...

AUTOGFTK

This is the same shape at a different time (0:54:1726) and from a different angle.

© Salvatore Mercatante 2009

Video will be coming soon.

Conde Results

So after all attempts to remedy my memory situation, I have come to the conclusion that certain audio files must be dropped and I almost welcome it. I will tell you why:

1. Too much synchronization can get repetitive and predictable.

2. It gives me the chance to explore certain forms of randomness that I was not able to work on earlier.

3. These randomly placed objects add another dimension to my work and to your view of it.

I can see these new shapes to be bothersome to some, others will not know what to make of them, and the rest will love it. Consider it a parody of how tight-knit all of my videos have been in the past (even though I realize most people have not seen them).

Don't consider this a cop out, because it is most definitely not.

And here is a small treat. Those two screenshots I posted earlier...well this is the final frame. Taken at exactly 1:52:3467 (minutes:seconds:frames).

© Salvatore Mercatante 2009

AUTOGFTK

look at these two fight together

preliminary still shot

© Salvatore Mercatante 2009


here are some early renderings of a frame from my current project entitled 'conde' (in two colors)

on a side note neither of these look like what may be the final product.

Memory Issues

If there is one thing I hate more than anything in the world it's being limited by my technology. In experimenting with 3Ds Max I have found that it is incredibly easy to overload my processor and crash the program, even when performing minute movements and small fluctuations. In 'Conde,' a project I have been working on for about a year (on and off), I have reached the threshold of my computers power. Considering most of my material (whether it be an electro/house track or an abstract attempt at deconstructing beats) is done in the digital arena, the programs that I use need to work seamlessly. Usually I do not hit any snags and the technology stays transparent, but every so often meyhem insues. As is the case here.

Most audio files have been loaded and assigned to their respective audio controllers, which intern mold the shape(s) I am working with into what I envision. 'Conde' has so many seperate and audio tracks that attempting to load them all would be deemed insanity. The sound structure of the full track is one of my most complex to date, so I knew that I was asking for trouble. But what does one do now? Kill the track? Rearrange the sounds? Remove shapes? All seem like horrible solutions to me. Too much work has gone into this arrangement and there is too little time left to even consider those ideas. I have a few tricks up my sleeve that may fix the issue, but if they do not work then you will see a video that just may be so unhinged that you yourself may experience 'memory issues.'

To me, that prospect seems rather exhilarating.

Results to follow...

AUTOGFTK

a side note

This will also act as an artist website until I obtain a domain name.

The Beginning

This is to be a blog recording my progress in music and 3D Design for my New Media Senior Project. I will be updating with ideas, experiments, productions, and media.